Former UF star rusher Fred Taylor eager to see son shine with Gators

GAINESVILLE — Standing on the sideline of the annual spring game looking as fit as the day he retired from the NFL in 2010, Fred Taylor said people barely noticed when he signed with Florida out of Belle Glade Glades Central High in 1994.

Taylor would not take long to make his name known and would leave Gainesville four years later for the NFL as one of the best running backs in school history.

Taylor wishes his son, Kelvin, enjoyed a little anonymity himself as a Gators' freshman.

"When I came out, the joke [was] you had to type it out in Morse code and it wouldn't get out for a week," Taylor said. "If you had a kid in California doing well, you wouldn't know about it for quite some time.

"He's been talked about."

The combination of his dad's legacy, a record-setting high school career and the 24-7 recruiting news cycle has everyone primed for big things from Kelvin Taylor even before he's played his first game.

Taylor did little on Saturday to diminish expectations.

On day when No. 1 running back Matt Jones had just one carry, quarterback Jeff Driskel passed for 70 yards on 20 attempts and Florida's offense had few highlights, Taylor helped fill the void.

The 5-foot-11, 216-pound freshman from Glades Day had several good runs, including a 7 yard touchdown and a 16-yard burst with the offense backed up inside its 5-yard line. Taylor finished with 59 yards on 11 carries.

"Awesome job," said Jones, who ran just once for eight yards as coaches put his back-ups to work. "He hit the hole well, caught the ball well, his protection was good. He usually messes up on a couple of plays. He was excellent today."

Taylor, who enrolled at Florida in January, made his share of freshman mistakes this spring. He dropped one pass that was on target during Saturday's scrimmage.

Jones, a sophomore, can relate to Taylor's transition. Jones recalled his biggest challenge last season was learning pass protection and the playbook.

"The intricate details," Fred Taylor said of his son. "Once he picks that up, he can play fast.

"I want him to concentrate on the things he didn't do a lot in high school."

Beginning as an eighth-grader at Glades Day, Kelvin Taylor would line up in the I-formation, get the ball and make plays. He led his team to state titles as a freshman and sophomore and finished his career with 12,121 yards and scored a state-record 191 touchdowns.

Facing much better competition this spring, Taylor showed natural running ability from day one. If he figures out some of the nuances of the college game, he should help the Gators this season.

"Some positions are easier than others to contribute as a freshman and that's a natural instinct position," UF coach Will Muschamp said Saturday. "You give the guy the ball and let his natural instincts take over and run for daylight. He can do that.

"It's the other things we have to brush up on."

Fred Taylor, one of the best breakaway runners of his generation, said his son is a shiftier runner at this stage, but he would like to see him improve his top-end speed.

"His speed is OK," Taylor said of his son. "I would not say he's explosive in the sense he's going to go the distance, but he's explosive in and out of his cuts.

"I would like to see him maybe get with the track coach or some of these track guys."

Asked if that was a possibility for Kelvin Taylor this offseason, Muschamp said, "let's let Kelvin be Kelvin, and Fred's Fred."